Six ways you can watch your competitors watching you

You watch your competitors, they watch you, so let's see what they're looking at.

I'm reasonably certain we've all had a good look around our competitor's ecommerce sites and I'm pretty sure they've had a good look around ours as well.

It's been industry practice to do 'competitor shopping' for decades – but in the digital world where everything is measurable is there anything we can learn from them while they are trying to learn from us?

Firstly to be able to achieve the following we will need our competitor's IP address. This is most likely not the IP address of their web server, but the IP address of their office / home. If your competitor is medium to large in scale then it's likely they will have a static IP address or one or several IP address ranges.

If they are smaller then they may well be operating on a dynamic IP address (which changes every time they re-boot their router or loose connection).

For the purpose of this post I'll be talking about IPv4. While some ISPs are switching to IPv6 the former remains dominant (and also potentially easier to track), once my ISP updates to IPv6 I'll let you know how these techniques work with that protocol.

Now the tricky part: we need to find out our competitor's IP address. There are many way to do this, from checking their subdomains for the DNS settings of a windows server style server.domain.com domain (some penetration testing tools may be your friend), through to hopping on to their public wi-fi.

There are also companies who maintain databases of public-facing static IP addresses for medium/larger companies which you can search for a fee. I'm sure you can use your imagination for some other methods…

So now we have their IP address what are some things we can keep an eye on?

1. See which pages on your site they are looking at

Log files can be an incredibly useful (if slightly overwhelming) source of data about how your site is being used, and if we have our competitors IP address we can use them to see which pages on our site they have been looking at.

You can search through the bare logs but depending on your logging level these could be noting every single resource they access (including images, scripts etc.) – so I'd recommend using a log file analyser than can drill-down by IP address.

This will let you know exactly which pages of yours they are looking at and when.

2. What technology do they use?

Looking at the log files will also give you their browser header information – this will let you know their operating system, browser & screen resolution. Although not the insight of the century you can see if they are testing your site on different devices – or just generally what their desktop technology stack is.

You can also sniff out their IP address using either a plug-in or some code and inject an analytics event, allowing you to track and report on them and their technology in Google Analytics or your analytics tool of choice.

3. What times are they looking?

Again looking at the log files – you can see what time of the day they are checking out your site.

Another albeit small insight into their world – how late are they working? How late do they get into the office?

4. Watch them browse

Session recording is an extremely useful tool in any ecommerce professional's tool-box.

Many of these tools give you a number of filtering options including filtering by IP address. If we have their IP address we can surface the recordings of them using our site and see exactly what they are focusing on.

5. See if they are programmatically checking your prices

There are numerous ways of automatically checking a competitors prices,  some cloud hosted and some stand-alone apps.

To check for the latter we'd need to dig into the logs to see if there are any spikes in visits from their IP address – if so chances are they could be price checking (although it could be another tool such as Screaming Frog, URL profiler etc.).

One way to defend against this and mess with them at the same time is to detect their IP and give them incorrect pricing data – just make very sure the IP address is definitely them.

For cloud based services this can be more difficult as they will often operate across numerous IP addresses and / or proxies but again you can check your log files for spikes from particular IP addresses / ranges and take action as above if you notice a pattern.

6. Screen their calls

Your competitors may be calling your sales or customer service team to test your policies, dig for information or just to see if you offer any discounts for bulk purchases etc. This one can get a little technical, but if you have all the parts in place isn't too hard to do.

As with the analytics scenario earlier on we need to write some script to detect the competitors IP address and then display a different phone number to them and only them.

You'll need to tie this phone number into your phone system and display some specific text when a call comes in on that number – when you see that text you'll know what to do.

Bonus tip: block your competitors clicking on your adverts.

Both Google and Bing allow you to block ads by IP address – so if you're worried about your competitors clicking on your ads then you can stop your adverts even appearing to them.

Assuming you have their IP address the rest is easy – how to exclude by IP in Google adwords and in Bing.

Stuart Kerr is Head of digital at Liberty Games, an Ecommerce consultant and a contributor to SEW.

10 ways to promote your WordPress blog for beginners

If you've just started your WordPress blog and want everybody to read your content, then you should promote your blog on multiple online platforms.

Creating and launching an appealing and informative blog is not enough. For better results, you need to get serious about its promotion.

Marketing has always been a great way to drive the targeted audience towards your brand or product. You can convey your organization's message to a large number of people by making the use of effective marketing techniques.

Similarly, a blogger optimizes their posts with the aim to better represent them across various web platforms, where they can generate traffic to the site.

But, due to the stiff competition, it's now even more gruelling making your blog a success. Also the techniques for promoting a blog never remain the same due to the ever-changing panda and penguin updates by Google.

That's why I've collected the 10 tried & tested ways that can effectively promote your WordPress blog.

1. Create quality, engaging content

The first step you need to do is to create quality, informative and engaging content for your blogs.

You need to understand that many people have great experience in the same niche as you. So make sure that you write a blog post that can solve the problems of these readers and give them a rich reading experience.

Plus, it should stand up to the expectations of your target audience. By

providing them their most desired content, you can efficiently improve the web presence of your blog.

2. Install the most suitable theme

The overall look and feel of a blog can make or break the visibility of your site. Web design is a vital aspect that leaves a first and the last impression on visitor's mind.

Therefore, you should search for a theme that can beautifully showcase the purpose of your blog to your visitors.

So, take your time and choose a theme that both looks great and can enhance the usability of your blog, A great user experience is something that will encourage visitors to stay on your blog longer.

3. Social media marketing

Market your blog posts on social media platforms, including Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, StumbleUpon etc. to drive more web traffic. If you want a successful blog, you need to post or share your content to relevant groups.

You can also set up a Facebook page where you can add all your targeted visitors, and a group of the same niche. Then you can share the links to your posts via your Facebook profile.

You can also add social sharing icons on each of your blog post to allow your readers to share your content on their own social media accounts.

4. Customize permalinks

You can optimize your content by ensuring the URLs of your blog posts contain relevant keywords. WordPress can generate a permalink for you automatically, but before you hit publish make sure that it's keyword-rich and readable.

Try to optimize the permalink in a way that it reflects your content instantly to visitors.

5. Use guest posting

Guest posting means writing and posting a blog post or an article on someone else's website or blog.

Now, you might be thinking how guest posting can boost the web presence of our blog? But it is a great strategy that can promote your blog to a large population base online.

You can use a guest post to encourage visitors to come to your blog. This technique not only promotes your blog but also gives you external link from more authority sites, which can improve your ranking on search engines.

6. Create search-optimized blog posts

Rank higher on Google, Yahoo, and other search engines by optimizing the titles and descriptions of your blog posts. WordPress offers a ton of robust SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO, All In On SEO etc. that will create SEO-friendly meta descriptions and tile tags for each of your posts.

Make sure your meta descriptions and title tags contain all your relevant keywords, are readable for humans and accurately describe your content in an appealing way.

7. Make use of YouTube videos

YouTube is an ideal social media platform where you can convey your audio-visual message to your potential visitors in an engaging way.

Although, it is a popular marketing technique, you need to be very creative from your side.

You can begin with a video that is simple, which can help you get the hang of crafting future videos for your blog. Thereafter, you can do something more creative and innovative.

8. Email marketing

Email marketing is one of the most prominent ways that can help you promote your blog. You just need to create an email list and keep on adding new subscribers to generate quality leads.

The subscribers in your email lists will hopefully help you share and promote your content across different web platforms. So, you should build a massive email list in order to get more web traffic to your address.

9. Add your blog post to social bookmarking sites

You should add your blog post to social bookmarking sites as it can help drive extra traffic to your website.

But keep in mind that you should choose quality bookmarking sites to submit your post. Low quality sites won't do any good for your blog and they can harm you in long run.

10. Update your blog posts regularly

Make sure that you update your blog on a regular basis.

Creating regular content gives your readers something to come back for and lets Google know that you're serious about what you're doing.

Conclusion

With the help of these proven tips, you can promote your WordPress blog across all web platforms with an objective to drive more web traffic and generate quality leads.

Lucy Barret is a Sr. WordPress Developer at HireWPGeeks, a WordPress Development Company, and a contributor to SEW.

Why retailers shouldn't overlook the value of m-commerce apps

Recent stats suggest that the mobile web has the edge over apps in terms of m-commerce sales, but this doesn't mean retailers should dismiss apps. 

Five to ten years ago, after the release of the first iPhone and before the widespread adoption of responsive design, there was a genuine decision to be made between apps and mobile web for retailers.

For a time, before Apple's rivals got their acts together, mobile web essentially meant iPhones. In turn, this meant that having a mobile commerce app was a real alternative to a mobile website, and could deliver a better user experience in many cases.

Now things are different, and few would argue that an app should be an alternative to a mobile web presence, but rather whether retailers should have an app as well.

In this article I'll look at the stats, as well as the arguments for retailers building mobile apps to complement their mobile web presence.

Mobile web vs apps: the stats

Recent comScore stats revealed that, in five of the top European markets, the mobile browser is more popular than the app for shopping. 

A US Forrester/RetailMeNot survey (PDF) (August 2015), found that 43% of respondents had purchased by mobile browser in the previous quarter compared to just 30% who had purchased by app.

These stats suggest the mobile web is 'winning' but they don't necessarily tell the whole story.

Indeed, in the UK, just 32% of retailers have mobile apps, while many more have mobile-friendly sites. So, many customers simply don't have a choice between apps and mobile web, depending which retailers they choose to shop with.

Stats from a recent Criteo report show a different perspective. It finds that apps account for 54% of mobile sales among its clients, ahead of 46% for mobile web.

The conclusion to draw here is that, while mobile web will always win for volume of traffic, apps can compete on sales and transactions.

Or, to put it another way, mobile app users buy more.

Why might app users buy more?

There are a few possible reasons, mainly around the ability to store customer data and tailor the experience for users.

1. Loyal, repeat customers are more likely to download apps

Apps allow retailers to provide a better, more personalised experience for their most loyal customers.

These loyal customers are also the most valuable in terms of revenue for many retailers. It can pay to provide an app that enhances the shopping experience for them.

For example, I use the Majestic Wines app regularly as it records my purchase history and preferences. So I know which wines I've enjoyed when I need more.

I've never actually shopped direct from this app, as I tend to head to the local store, but it still adds value for me as a loyal customer.

Apps target these loyal customers and enable retailers to target this segment more effectively.

2. Data and personalisation

Apps can be great from a data perspective, as Olly Cooper, Co-Founder of Bijou Commerce explains:

“Apps can provide a wealth of data, and this can be extremely valuable in terms of product popularity, and also for understanding individual customers and providing a personalised shopping experience.

The level of data acquired through an app allows retailers to adapt and improve their service in real time. We know that personalisation drives sales, and an app is uniquely able to fulfil this.”

3. Ease of purchase

A well-designed mobile-friendly site should make purchase, and checkout, as smooth as possible.

However, saved payment and address details on apps can make the checkout process that much easier as customers will simply need to enter a username and password in many cases.

4. In-app notifications

Apps also have the functionality to send push notifications to users, informing them of special offers, new products, and generally prodding them to make a purchase.

It works too. A study by Netmera (2015) showed that push notifications increased the number of orders by a massive 180%.

According to Olly Cooper:

“The ability to send personalised offers that will be almost immediately seen by customers, with a track record of success, is a feature that singlehandedly proves the value of apps.”

5. Customer experience

Helen Colclough, Ecommerce Development Manager, River Island:

“Customers perceive native apps to be a cleaner shopping experience, more trustworthy when they consider signal speed or security and an easy way of quickly accessing their favourite retailer's digital channels in comparison to the mobile web.

Apps are the new browser bookmarks, email newsletter, credit card AND shopping list. Habitual usage of your app both in store and online is the Holy Grail of the engaged returning customer and absolutely worth pursuing.”

So, do retailers need apps as well as mobile-friendly sites?

The answer to this question will depend on the retailer in question. Many will consider that just having a responsive or some other mobile-friendly site will be enough.

It may be for some, but retailers should at least consider the potential benefits of apps, as Olly Cooper explains:

This decision needs to be regularly reassessed, based on the changes surrounding the mobile and retail industries, competitors, and of course the individual situation of each business.

It may be more of a challenge to achieve app downloads, but ultimately, once you've managed to claim that real estate, the investment starts to pay off.”

One example of this is the Missguided app. The retailer recently decided to release an app, and so far it's working.

Nitin Passi, founder and CEO, said:

The revenue run-rate of the Missguided shopping app went from zero to £30m within just four months of the app launch… the app now makes up 13% of our online revenue.”

There are potential downsides to apps. Retailers need to account for development costs, while it can be a challenge to get your app on customers' smartphones, and to get them to use them regularly.

For this reason, apps may not be for everyone but it would equally be unwise to dismiss them altogether.

Apps can be great tools for improving customer retention, and they allow retailers to be more device-specific than the mobile web allows. Essentially, this allows retailers to tailor the customer experience more effectively and provide some of their most valuable customers with a better all-round experience.

Over on ClickZ Intelligence, we have some detailed best practice reports on m-commerce. These are:

• DNA of a Great M-Commerce Site Part 1: Planning


• DNA of a Great M-Commerce Site Part 2: The 12 Pillars of Mobile Design

Nine lesser-known SEO resources and blogs you might not follow, but should

I was having a conversation earlier today about some of my favorite SEO resources and how I felt like they were flying under the radar.

So I decided to put together a list of my favorites that I feel aren't shared or mentioned enough.

Not because I think these individuals deserve more views, but because I think the SEO community is missing out by not listening to what they have to say.

Bill and Ammon's Bogus Hangout

Bill Slawski and Ammon Johns have this hangout (almost) weekly. Most of the episodes have less than 80 views on YouTube so I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of SEO professionals are not tuning into this, which is a shame because I genuinely think some of the best conversations in the industry happen here.

You can listen weekly on Tuesdays, but I usually watch sometime after the live broadcast, usually days or weeks later, and often multiple episodes in a row. I find it to be great background material to keep learning and thinking constructively while I work.

SEO Theory YouTube Channel

Another video resource which I'm surprised has such low view counts. Michael Martinez has a few different blogs where he writes about SEO (which you have probably read) but I find these videos to be incredibly insightful elaborations on some of the topics he's already written about. Definitely worth a listen while you work as well.

The SEM Post

This is probably the most followed resource in this list. A more general SEO news blog than the others mentioned, but I find Jennifer and the other writers at The SEM Post cover the most relevant news without being overwhelming.

Some of the other general SEO news blogs have a tendency to cover so much news (not that it's a bad thing!) that it can be overwhelming and hard to keep up.

With other “large” SEO publications, you could easily lose hours reading articles which may not apply to you. This blog offers a happy medium so you can get the news you need while still having enough time to get your work done.

Advanced Web Ranking Blog

As the name suggests, this is an SEO blog geared towards experienced professionals. They cover a wide range of topics and most of the information here is highly actionable. Overall, I think they offer a great introduction into advanced SEO strategies for junior professionals hoping to expand their skillset.

OHGM

I've referred to this website as the “obscure technical black metal of SEO blogs” before and I still haven't come up with a better way to describe it. That's exactly what it is. Obscure, fun and technical SEO posts focused more on the search engine side rather than the marketing side of SEO.

RankTank

This isn't as much a blog (though they do have one) as it is a compilation of open source SEO tools but I'm including this because I feel that it doesn't get the love it deserves.

I think a lot of SEO professionals don't realize that they can build incredibly useful tools with Google Sheets for absolutely free, and RankTank can help them do that.

SEO 2.0

I could copy and paste his name, but I'm just going to call him Tad because it's easier for all of us. He has been writing great posts about SEO for a long time, and chances are you've read a lot of his articles already, but I don't see his own blog being shared too often. He offers a fresh perspective on a lot of topics from SEO to social media and content.

NeoMam Studios Blog

Probably the most “content marketing” based resource in this list, NeoMam Studios have really great insight into creating valuable content and getting eyes on it. They also have some of the best (in my opinion) posts about scaling email outreach.

Cre8asite Forums

Even though this forum isn't extremely active anymore (there are a few new posts here every once in a while, but scroll about half way down the first page on most of their forums and that's where the posts from 2016 end), it is still a great resource to browse.

I don't want to say this website is “dead” but you're probably not going to get super up-to-date info here. Nonetheless, it is worth a mention because of its historical value.

Most SEOs try to do a good job staying updated on current topics, but reading what the industry was talking about in the past can be a great way to learn new things too.

At the very least, this forum is a giant rabbit hole to topics you may not have explored before. For as much as SEO changes nearly every day, it's also surprising how much of the conversations have remained the same. Find some threads from before you started working in SEO and I promise you'll learn something new browsing here.

This list started off much more extensive, but I managed to whittle it down to a handful. If a site could be found easily by Googling “SEO blogs” I removed it.

If they had a lot of social media followers, I removed them. If they were ad-heavy or otherwise blatantly promotional, I removed them. If they've been listed in a lot of “SEO resources” posts already, I removed them. You get the idea.

If there are any you think I missed, please let me know because I would love to know about them.

Anthony Randall is a link building dude at Rizolt.com and contributor to SEW.

What does Google AMP mean for ecommerce?

Google has made some significant changes to the SERPs by rolling out AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) for ecommerce.

As of the August 22, the AMP project now provides the option to build aspects of ecommerce sites, such as product and category pages.

It seemed only a matter of time before this would occur, especially after eBay announced the launch of 8 million AMP-enabled pages,  but what exactly does it mean, and how should retailers react?

What are the key changes for retailers?

Anything that can increase conversion rates will always be welcome news for retailers, and the improvements in page load speeds that AMP brings will most likely help to achieve this.

Furthermore, Google will display AMP pages in the search results, rather than just in the carousel. It's important to note that this update does not affect rankings directly (yet), although site speed and on-site engagement metrics, which AMP is focused on, could have an impact on your rankings.

Over time, it is also possible that Google will favour sites running AMP as they will cater for the growing mobile audience too.

Although AMP pages aren't the most adaptable or customizable at this stage, some large retailers (including eBay) are partnering with Google to test features such as smart buttons and advanced tracking, so we should expect a lot more developments in future. You can check out the proposed timeline with upcoming changes here.

Richard Gingras, Google's head of news and social products explains:

“This is a very big step forward simply in terms of the amount of traffic we will now see going to AMP files - by far the biggest so far, in terms of increasing overall AMP adoption and traffic.”

What does this mean for ecommerce?

Google says that 'AMP is a natural fit for ecommerce because AMP makes webpages fast, and fast pages help with purchase conversions.' If you want to see what sort of results are coming up with AMP searches, click this link and perform a search from a mobile device.

The aim for this project will ultimately be to provide a complete overhaul of the mobile e-commerce experience, utilizing stripped-back HTML to provide quicker load speeds, but also faster transitions between products.

This is certainly something retailers will want to bear in mind as they craft product pages and select images.

AMP could provide a boon for early adopters, as we will expect this to become the industry standard for all ecommerce sites in time – much in the same vein as the 'mobile friendly' tags, recently removed from SERPs now that over 85% of sites meet the criteria.

The lightning bolt tag displayed alongside results will also lead to higher click-through rates as consumers realize that they relate to faster loading speeds, so there is an additional benefit here.

How should retailers react?

This should be viewed as a great opportunity to provide a better mobile experience and increase conversion rates. Implementing AMP may not be a straightforward process, but this open-source initiative does come with a lengthy list of best practices to aid developers.

If you are still on the fence as to whether you should make your content AMP compliant, these recent changes just might tip you over the edge.

Clark Boyd is VP, Strategy at Croud. This article was co-written by Andy Cooney, Head of SEO. 

Best tweets and takeaways from ClickZ Live and Shift San Francisco

Wednesday 31st August was the first day of ClickZ Live and Shift San Francisco, an event which attracted more then 500 attendees.

It featured speakers from Accenture, Forbes, Intel,  M&C Saatchi Mobile and keynotes from Aston Martin,  Pandora, Walmart and Nitin Mangtani.

Here's a collection of tweets from the event, with some great stats and insights…

Watching @astonmartin CMO give an awesome talk @ #CZLSF. Learned if you buy one they invite you to the factory to watch it get built. Crazy.

- Adam Singer (@AdamSinger) August 30, 2016

46 times a day. That's how many times the average American checks their mobile phones each day. How often do you check? #CZLSF

- Stacey Jaffe (@staceyjaffe) August 30, 2016

A much anticipated talk from Heidi Browning from #Pandora giving invaluable #insights at #czlsf #marketing #mobil… pic.twitter.com/pi2Ejg0HPb

- Kevin Steineman (@KSteineman) August 30, 2016

In 2014 mobile surpassed desktop users and now more time spent on media than sleeping #CliczIntelligence #CZLSF pic.twitter.com/S2P7LzgXnm

- AdSpots (@AdSpotsInc) August 31, 2016

“The customer journey is no longer linear” says @LinusGreg #CZLSF pic.twitter.com/IXjNYFFKWF

- Gabriella Khorasanee (@MissGDK) August 31, 2016

Why #consumers delete #mobile #apps. Important #uxdesign considerations to improve #customerretention. #CZLSF pic.twitter.com/bM1YCqyyJP

- HERO (@MarketingByHERO) August 31, 2016

Using schema markup on your reviews? Make sure your reviews were generated on YOUR site, not syndicated from others! #seo #CZLSF

- Thom Craver (@thomcraver) August 30, 2016

Yay for marketers, sad for tired people: “More time spent on media than sleeping” says @LinusGreg #CZLSF

- Gabriella Khorasanee (@MissGDK) August 31, 2016

Need to know what the customer wants, and be able to deliver to them through technology –@KevinKrone @SouthwestAir #WednesdayWisdom #CZLSF

- Carly Ferry (@CRLYFRRY) August 31, 2016

1/5 minutes spent on #mobile is on #facebook or #instagram #clickzlive #czlsf #czsf pic.twitter.com/PgUFZyS8Ss

- Kevin Steineman (@KSteineman) August 30, 2016

challenges @astonmartin when trying to integrate w/ diff functions. ->It happens to all companies. :-) #CZLSF pic.twitter.com/HBKUiyfVCb

- Pam Didner (@PamDidner) August 30, 2016

Three ways an SEO is like a financial planner and how this affects agency proposals

I read an interesting statement this week, one that resonated and made sense in all the right ways. “I think of link building the same way I would my retirement account.”

The quote is from Nathan Gotch and it relates to whether or not PBN's are worth using still.

The central premise is that you cannot build a PBN without there being at least some risk involved, just as you cannot invest in your retirement without there being risk involved. All investments come with associated risks.

This got me thinking about financial planners and the role they play within retirement savings. It occurred to me that in many ways, an SEO should treat their client's link building efforts in much the same way that a financial planner treats their client's retirement savings.

This got me searching for more parallels between an SEO and a financial planner; here are just three of them.

1) They have a deep knowledge of a cluttered industry and their clients pay to gain access to this knowledge and direction

Just as there are plenty of 'uncles' or friends out there who think they know a thing or two about the stock market and managing an investment portfolio, there are plenty of people out there who are willing to share their 2 cents and advice on SEO.

Whether it be someone in their immediate friend circle that has put on the 'expert' hat and decided to guide them, or potentially one of the numerous Facebook ads with consultants outlining their “x step program to 6 figure SEO returns”.

The trust that a client puts into their SEO is about making sure that they are getting professional advice, and finding someone who will stake their own reputation on the advice that they hand out.

This is not always going to be easy, as there are constantly forces within a client's sphere of influence that are making suggestions. An SEO really needs to cut through all the noise and show why it is that they can be trusted. 

2) They are in charge of managing long-term investment of real time assets and cash flow

SEO is the long game, much like your retirement planning. There is no point in a financial planner that makes you millions in a few years, but then runs your retirement savings into the ground by the time you need it.

People do not go to a financial planner wanting to be rich tomorrow, they go because they want to make sure their finances are stable and set for the future. Perhaps a difference here can quite often be that SEO clients do not necessarily see the connection between SEO and their retirement savings.

It is up to both of these professionals to direct existing surpluses of resources towards ensuring a further abundance in the future. The financial planner uses your existing wealth to create additional wealth. The SEO uses your existing money, time and expertise to yield returns on your website's visibility well into the future.

3) They both outline strategies with a breakdown of investment cost, expected return and any risks involved.

A great deal of the time, people go to one of these professionals because they do not want to invest the time and resources into studying the industry, so they are just looking for someone that they trust to represent their best interests.

In the same way that you would expect your financial planner to give their statement of advice and outline a risk vs reward profile for each decision, an SEO should be engaging in a similar practice.

Wherever you sit on various risky practices within your field, the ethics of the matter only comes down to whether or not your client is fully aware of the risks present in your tactics.

It is an SEO's job to outline all of the costs versus potential rewards. It is also their responsibility to let their client know if they are using any risky practices or not within the proposal they are bringing forward.